Simon Says.......Anything Goes

Welcome to our weekly challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge!

It's an Anything Goes week, and the team is featuring CZ Design products.  You don't need to use this brand in order to enter, but if you do have any of them, we'd love to see what you do with them!

supplies: kraft, black, and Green Apple cardstock, a text patterned paper, CZ Design Silhouette Sentiments clear stamps, lime enamel dots

I have a bonus card this week, simply because this CZ Design Just Because die is a favorite of mine.

supplies: white, various shades of mint to navy cardstock, Just Because die, Hero Arts butterfly die, sequins to match

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Yellow Roses

 Our roses this summer were spectacular in June, but their subsequent bloomings  were pretty much ruined by Japanese beetles and a bright green little worm ....it was always a race to cut them before the insects started munching.  So before summer ends, here's a rose card.

supplies: white and pale gold cardstock, Taylored Expressions Garden Party embossing folder, The Greetery Sketchbook Roses clear stamps, Altenew Chamomile, Snapdragon, Firefly and Grass Field mini ink cubes, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiments clear stamp and matching die, mini adhesive foam squares

The rose spray was fussy-cut, but I love the ease of stamping these sentiments all at once and then die-cutting them with 1 die - so nice to have the extras for future projects!  And I'm really warming to the new Simon smaller and less deep adhesive foam squares.  They were just what was needed to make the sentiment stand out a bit from the rest of the card .

Hope you have a great week - thanks so much for stopping by!

Flower Power

 When I first got this Lawn Fawn Floral Wreath, I loved it so much that I cut it out multiple times and colored it in different colorways.  At that time I made 2 cards to share on my blog, and put the rest of the wreaths into my scrap basket.  Today's the day to use another of them, since it's done in bright summer colors.

As before, I kept the design itself simple and let the sweet elements tell the story.

supplies: white cardstock, (retired) Taylored Expressions Flower Power embossing folder, Lawn Fawn Floral Wreath die, Simon Stitched Circle die, The Greetery Lovely Blossoms sentiment, Doodlebug tiny heart sprinkle

Short and sweet today - enjoy your Sunday!

Minted Florals

 Here's another play with another of Simon Says Stamps' 3D embossing folders, this one from their September Card Kit.  This time I thought I'd see what happens when you emboss a printed paper.

supplies: white and a pink metallic cardstock, Simon's Minted Florals 3D embossing folder, Lawn Fawn Watercolor Wishes Rainbow paper pad, Big Scripty Hugs die, old Hero Arts pink gems, adhesive foam square

It works!  As long as the paper is fairly thick.  So after embossing I lightly sanded to bring out the details. (this printed paper was 1-sided with white on the reverse).  Then I ran a scrap of white cardstock through the same folder and fussy-cut this 1 flower to pop above itself on the card.  I used markers to color it first.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by today!

Sunshine Smiles

 Can you believe August is almost over?  I thought I'd better make a summer card before I go into fall mode in a few days!!

supplies: white and yellow cardstock, Simon Picnic Floral embossing folder and Sending Smiles dies, Warm Sunshine ink

I didn't play immediately with this embossing folder that came in the August Card Kit, and was pleasantly surprised when I did, but then, all of Simon's folders are pretty special, don't you think?  I embossed it on white cardstock, then used a golden yellow ink to gently rub over the raised areas.  The sentiment seemed perfect, and I added the little heart it also cuts to one of the daisies.

Hope you have a great weekend, thanks so much for stopping by!

Simon Says....Shimmer and Shine

Welcome to our new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog!

Our theme this week is Shimmer and Shine, and the team are featuring beautiful Gina K Designs products.  I've been wanting this embossing folder and took this as my opportunity to grab it!

supplies: white cardstock, aqua metallic Confections kraft cardstock, Gina K Designs Tapestry embossing folder, Nuvo Aquamarine Embellishment Mousse, Pink Fresh Studio Curvy Leaves die, Simon Happy Birthday dies, Moonshine sequins

Isn't this folder divine? Such rich detail!  I embossed it on white cardstock, then added some water to my mousse, and painted the color onto it.  It gives a gorgeous pearly look, so soft and shimmery.  Then I added my metallic leaf spray and a few sequins for shine and 2 layers of my sentiment.  

This is a 5 x 7 folder, which means that you can use it for mini slim lines as well as A2 cards!

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Batty for You!

 I have another new set of dies to share with you for Halloween, and it's appropriate that I post this card today, my youngest sister's birthday, as she loves that holiday!

supplies: white, desert storm, pale grey, and black cardstock, Spellbinders Dancin' Mummy dies, Spooky Boo dies, a Simon Halloween sentiment strip, a bat stencil and pale grey ink

This is another of the Dancin dies from Spellbinders, and I think he is darling!  I'm not a fan of scary cards for kids, but I think this hits just the right notes!  The dies are made so that the upper body can be lifted above the card, while the legs are separate so that they swing when you move the card back and forth. It's pretty ingenious the way these dies were designed!  I'm really pleased with how this turned out, and I can't wait to send it to one of our Grands come Halloween!

Many thanks, as always, to Spellbinders, for sharing these with me!

Some New Turnabouts!!

 Concord and 9th just brought out some new Turnabouts for fall, and this time they're stencils!!  AND you get 2 different designs in the package!  I jumped as soon as it became available at Simon, and here is my first play with them.  I splurged and bought the matching stamps and dies that all work together in this Autumn Hues collection.

supplies: ivory and Audrey Blue cardstock, Concord & 9th Autumn Hues wreath stencil,stamp set, and dies, peacock feathers, fired brick, and mustard seed oxide ink, vintage photo distress ink, adhesive foam squares

I used the wreath stencil and 4 inks, and stencilled right onto my card base.  Then I used the stamp set and the matching dies for my sentiment, and popped it above the card.

For both of my cards today I used my new Brutus Monroe Stick and Stamp mat, and it worked beautifully!  I highly recommend it!

Next I tried the background stencil.

supplies: ivory and Audrey Blue cardstock, Concord & 9th Autumn Hues wreath stencil,stamp set, and dies, peacock feathers, fired brick, and mustard seed oxide ink, vintage photo distress ink, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die, adhesive foam squares

I used the same inks but a different stamped sentiment and matching die for this one, and cut out the background with a stitched rectangle.

The stamp set has a really nice mix of sentiments for fall and Thanksgiving, plus the little heart and leaves you see on the first card, and a few tiny leaves for embellishing, and the die set has a banner and 2 nesting labels, plus leaves in 2 sizes for cutting from each of the stencils, so you're set for the season with this bundle!

 I don't know what is so pleasing about working with turnabouts, maybe the option to try all kinds of color combinations.  Since this is a turnabout set with a fall theme, I know I'll be using these lots going forward!

Haunted House!

 Here's a fun set of dies, appropriately named Haunted House, that were released earlier this month from Spellbinders.  I had a blast making my little Halloween scene with them!

supplies: white, black, purple, dark green, Green Apple, and Orange Peel cardstock, Spellbinders Haunted House dies, inks to color moon and clouds, a long retired Cuttlebug embossing folder, retired Hero Arts Upper Case Alphabet dies

I'll have another cute Halloween card from the same Boo Dance Party Collection coming very soon!  Thanks for stopping by!

Let's Celebrate!

 My Simon Says Stamp September Card Kit arrived yesterday!  Here's a card that uses one of the patterned papers and one of the stamps.

supplies: white cardstock, heart dp from Sweet Rush collection, Let's Celebrate clear stamp, colored with markers, adhesive foam squares

I simply chose some marker colors to match the hearts and used them to color the sentiment before cutting it out and popping it above the card.  

This kit is full of everything you'll need to make birthday cards: this month we get sequins, a triangle tray to hold them, a happy birthday die, a sheet of glitter paper and another of Holographic Rainbows metallic, plus a pretty large floral 3D embossing folder!  A great value, as always!

Thanks for stopping by today - enjoy your weekend!

Spellbinders Fall Label Motif

 Here's my first card for fall, featuring Spellbinders new Fall Label Motif dies!

supplies: Cream, Surf Blue, beige, and white cardstock and copper metallic kraft cardstock, Fall Label Motif dies, distress inks to color, sentiment from Newton's Nook Autumn Newton, Falling Leaves embossing folder

Isn't this grid-work pretty?  I cut it this time from copper metallic paper.  The fall leaves, berries, etc were cut from white cardstock then colored with distress inks before assembling into my little groupings.

This die set is part of a 4-season collection by Becca Feeken called.Seasonal Label Motifs.

Many thanks to Spellbinders for sharing these dies with me!

Simon Says......Christmas

Welcome to our weekly challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog!

 Our theme this week is Christmas, and the team is playing with Spellbinders products!  You don't have to use this brand to enter our challenge, but if you have any of their products, we'd love to see you using them also!

supplies: Cream, Lipstick Red, Green Apple, Peacock Teal, Green Leaf, Schoolhouse Red, and Audrey Blue card, gold glitter cardstock, Spellbinders Be Bold Color Block Christmas dies, Holiday Blooms (poinsettia) and Winter Welcome Sled (pine sprigs) dies

I took "colorblock" to heart, and cut this die from 6 different cardstocks.  After paper-piecing the big Christmas, I cut the "Merry" and the centers of the poinsettias from  glitzy gold, then used Cream cardstock for the poinsettias and for the card base.  This makes a slimline card that measures 8 3/4" X 3 3/4" that will easily fit into a business envelope.

 Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Santa Lane Christmas Kit

 Hello!  Today I have a bunch of cards that I made using Spellbinders Santa Lane Mega Christmas Kit.  This kit is full of beautiful papers, ephemera, cardstock, prefolded cards in 2 sizes, envelopes, a sweet stamp set, and dies - in short, everything you need to make Christmas cards, even adhesives!.  

Today's first 5 cards are made from the papers, ephemera,  puffy stickers, and various embellishments.  I'm not going to list supplies as I usually do - just know that everything you see (except for the rectangle and circle dies) comes from the kit - it was so fun to put these together, and I have LOADS more supplies yet to play with!

This next card shows you the adorable Santa made from the dies in this kit.  Also included with him are dies for a sled, a snowman, gifts, and Santa's bag, but I'll use them another time. 

And finally, I wanted to show you some of the stamps in the stamp set in this kit.  It is mostly sentiments, along with this darling little deer, plus some snowflakes and stars.

As you can see, you can make elegant cards right through to clean and simple ones, and it contains something for everyone's taste!  This kit is a Limited Edition, so don't wait too long if you want it.  

Spellbinders Tinsel Time Collection

 Spellbinders is releasing a new collection today called Tinsel Time.  I have 4 cards for you showcasing 2 glimmer plates and a stamp set from it.  My cards today are holiday-related but I think you'll be able to see that these new products can be used for many occasions.

First up, the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Plate.  It makes a really elegant design when paired with gold foils.

supplies: Doll Pink and Gold Metallic cardstock, Dazzling Diamonds glimmer plate, Aura glimmer foil, Mix & Match Holiday Greetings and Holiday Blooms dies

And a 2nd version in cream and gold.

supplies: cream, gold and green kraft metallic cardstock, Dazzling Diamond glimmer plate, Elegant Holiday Glimmer Sentiments foiling plate, Speckled Aura glimmer foil, Layered Poinsettia dies, large cream pearl

And here is the other glimmer plate, called Starburst.  The first thing I thought of was snowflakes when I saw it, so I foiled it in silver on navy cardstock first.

supplies: Soft Navy and silver metallic cardstock, Starburst Glimmer Plate, Silver glimmer foil, Mix & Match Holiday Greetings sentiment die, Simon Eliza Snowflake die

This would work for fireworks, too, I think!  

Here's another card that gives me a '50s vibe!   I foiled it in Magenta foil over kraft card, and I used the new Lots of Wishing You Sentiments stamps and matching dies on it.

supplies: kraft and Doll Pink cardstock, Starburst Glimmer Plate and Magenta glimmer foil, Wishing You Sentiment stamps and matching dies, Doll Pink ink, circle die

Many thanks, as always, to Spellbinders, for allowing me to play with these fun products!

More Floral Arch cards

 Here are 2 more cards using The Greetery Arches suite.  

For the first one, I used the same exact colors as my card HERE, but this time I die-cut the design out around the outer edges and added it to a brown tone-on-tone plaid background.  I was going for a fall feel this time.

supplies: white cardstock, brown plaid from Lawn Fawn's Perfectly Plaid pad, The Greetery Floral Arches stamp/stencil set and matching die, Sea Shore and Golden Sunset mini ink cubes, Dark Chocolate mini ink cube, Arched Sentiments stamp set and matching die, Memory Box Fairy Jewels

Betsy gave us extra flowers, so this time I used those around the sentiment, and added aqua jewels, too.

Next, I switched to more spring-like colors and made a birthday card.

supplies: white and orchid pink card, The Greetery Floral Arches stamp/stencil set and matching die (for largest flower), Spring Bouquet greens and Cherry Blossom pinks mini ink cubes, Arched Sentiments stamp set and matching die, pale green adhesive jewels

The main panel is almost one layer, except for the largest flowers and the sentiment, to which I added extra die-cuts, to make them stand out a bit more from the base.  It's a subtle dimension, but still a flat card for mailing.

Hope your weekend is a great one!  Our weather has turned beautifully cooler here, more like June than August, and I'm SO enjoying it!